A mother's love. On this day that we honor our mothers, I thought it
fitting to share with you this wonderful story from God's Word that
personifies a mother's love. I have often said a mother's love can be
broken down into the 3 P's. Pleading, persistence, and prayer. I can
testify today that the only reason I am in the ministry is because my
mother who is with the Lord now, pleaded, was persistent, and prayed. I
have no doubt that many of you know Jesus as your Savior because of your
mother's prayers. So in honor of our mothers, let me break down the 3 P's
of a mother's love for you.

A mother will plead for her child. It was the deep love for her daughter
that drove the Canaanite woman in today's scripture to Jesus, pleading for
mercy for her daughter. In our time of despair, "something" pulls us to
God. Many people, who openly reject God, will cry out in a time of need.
Even believers will live apart from Christ, not giving Him much time in
their daily life...until the trials come. This mother in her hour of need,
knew where to go to plead for help.

Persistence is something that defines a mother. Moms have a God-given
talent to stay on something, no matter how long it takes, to get the job
done. Many times, God delays His answer to test our belief, much like He
did in the parable of the persistent widow in Luke 18:2-5. Are you serious
about the needs in your life? Then don't give up...be persistent. Isaiah
65:24 gives us that special promise, "before they call I will answer; while
they are still speaking, I will hear." God has promised to hear and answer
our prayers, but that does not always mean in our timing. Often, we need to
be persistent, like this Canaanite mother who was not going to be denied the
miracle she sought for her daughter.

If persistence defines a mother, then prayer is her greatest weapon. In
verse 25 of today's scripture we hear the simple prayer of faith, "Lord help
me!" Moms are prayer warriors. Moms know that it is prayer that moves the
hand of God. Moms know that prayer works because it demonstrates to God
that we are powerless in our own strength, and have put our faith in Him.
Jesus healed this woman's daughter because of her faith!

I want to encourage you today to honor your mother, she is a great gift from
God. It is also God's commandment that we honor our mother. For those of
you who have been estranged, separated from your Mom due to the events of
life, please, swallow your pride and contact her today. No matter what may
have happened in the past, tell her that you love her. I understand that
many mothers have not been what God called them to be, but through your
love, God can restore them.

For those like me whose Mom is with the Lord, let me suggest calling a local
nursing home and finding out the name of a lady who has no family, no
regular visitors. An inexpensive arrangement of flowers and 5 minutes of
your day just to tell her she hasn't been forgotten on this Mother's Day
will touch a life like you can not even imagine. I am a firm believer that
the little acts of kindness, even to strangers, are our most effective and
powerful ministry. Don't let this day pass without making it special for
your mother.

I love you and care about you, and it is my goal each day to encourage you
and challenge you to have that intimate daily relationship with the Lord
that He desires to have with us. I know from years in the ministry, one of
the biggest concerns for Moms is their unsaved children. Mom, let me stand
in agreement with you today for your unsaved kids. I will pray in agreement
with you for their salvation. It would be an honor and privilege to stand
in agreement with you for the salvation of your kids, since I realize that
is your number one prayer request. Millions will be in Heaven because of
the prayers of mom!!!!

To all the Moms out there today, may you be richly blessed on this day that
we honor you!

In His love and service,
Your friend and brother in Christ,
Bill Keller

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL MONDAY MAY 10, 2004
(Romans 10:9)

The real tragedy of Pat Tillman. One of the sad stories in the last few
weeks was the news of the death of former NFL star Pat Tillman, who died
while serving our nation in Afghanistan. Pat Tillman was different from
most of today's professional athletes. He was a star defensive back for
Arizona State University and was drafted by the Arizona Cardinals of the
National Football League. After several seasons with Arizona, he had an
opportunity to change teams and earn over 9 million dollars, but chose
instead to stay with Arizona for 1/3 of that since he felt he owed it to the
team for giving him his opportunity to play professional football.

As amazing as that is in today's world of professional athletes, Pat did
something even more amazing. He was so moved by the events of 9/11 he made
the decision to give up his professional football career, his 3.6 million
dollar salary, to serve our nation by joining the Army Rangers. When he
made the decision, he also refused to do any media interviews. He said that
what he was doing was not for attention or glory, but out of a personal
conviction to do his part in the war on terrorism. Again, Pat Tillman stood
out because such nobility is rarely found in professional athletes today.

That is why it was so sad to learn on April 23rd that Tillman had been shot
and killed the day before during a Special Operations mission in
southeastern Afghanistan along the border of Pakistan. This was a young
man who was not only a sports hero, but like all of those men and women who
bravely defend our nation, a real hero. Because he had given up the fame
and fortune of a successful professional football career, his death shocked
the nation and was a national story. But today, I want to tell you the REAL
tragedy of the death of Pat Tillman.

On Monday May 3rd, they had a Memorial Service for Pat Tillman in his home
town of San Jose, California. I got home from doing my daily radio program
at around 6 p.m. and my normal routine is to eat dinner with my wife and
then sleep from 7 until 11 when I have to get up and go do my nightly
television program from 1-2 a.m. The television in my bedroom was on one of
the 24-hour cable news stations as I was starting to fall asleep, when I
heard the broadcast of Pat Tillman's memorial service. I heard one speaker
after another talking about Pat's athletic career, his service to our
nation, about being a role model and hero, but with each speaker I realized
what was missing was anyone mentioning his faith. Other than the passing
reference to God, there was NOTHING being said about Pat Tillman's faith.

Then his brother got up to speak. Tillman's brother Richard - another
brother, Kevin, also joined the Rangers with Pat - was overcome with emotion
as he stood before the gathering in a white T-shirt and jeans. "It was
amazing to be his baby brother," he said,
voice shaking. "He was a champion. But with all respect to those who have
been up here before me, Pat's not with God. He was not religious, so he's
not with God, he's just f-ing dead."

I sat up, wide awake now, and all I could think about was that as great a
life as Pat Tillman had lived, great college athlete, successful
professional football career, giving up the fame and fortune to serve and
pay the ultimate price for our nation, he would spend eternity separated
from God in a place that was created for satan. That is the real tragedy of
the death of Pat Tillman, and anyone else who dies without accepting Jesus
Christ by faith as their Lord and Savior.

Let me interject something that is very important, please do not miss this.
From all of the news accounts as well as personal conversations I have had
with people close to the Tillmans, this was a VERY close knit family. From
all of my personal research, there is nothing to indicate that his brother's
comments were not accurate. However, there is always the possibility that
in those last days of Pat Tillman's life, a chaplain, someone he served with
who knew the Lord, may have spoken to Pat and he may have softened his heart
and actually accepted the Lord by faith as his Savior. Let's pray that
happened.

I love you and care about you so much. If Pat Tillman did die in his sins
without accepting Christ, he is eternally lost. There is no more sad end to
a life than to be separated from God your Creator for eternity. I pray
today that you realize no matter how great your life may be, how successful
you may be, how much money you may have, how wonderful and noble a person
you may be, the second your life ends, all of that means NOTHING.

Bill Gates may be the richest man on the planet, but the second his heart
stops beating, all of his billions mean NOTHING! We will all die one day my
friend, and the moment our heart stops beating the only thing that will
matter is if you know Jesus Christ by faith as your Lord and Savior.
NOTHING ELSE WILL MATTER.

I pray today that the Pat Tillman story will motivate you to realize that
unless you have a personal relationship by faith with Jesus Christ, you have
no hope beyond the few years of life we each have. If you are reading this
today and do not have 100% assurance that when your life is over you will be
forever with the Lord, don't wait another moment. I invite you to go towww.liveprayer.com/bdy_salvatn.html. Pray to ask God to open your heart,
read the words, pray the prayer, and accept today God's gift to you of
everlasting life through His son Jesus Christ. The real tragedy of Pat
Tillman was not that he died, but that he probably died without Christ in
his heart and is eternally lost.

In His love and service,
Your friend and brother in Christ,
Bill Keller (son of dirt)

***TODAY IS A SAD DAY IN THE UNITED STATES. For those who have been reading
the Daily Devotional I write each morning since Liveprayer started August
31, 1999, you know that I told you this day would be coming soon. Today, in
the State of Massachusetts, people of the same sex will be LEGALLY married.
Nobody, even 10 short years ago, would have ever thought this perversion of
God's Holy Institution of Marriage would ever happen. However, I am sure
those living in the 50's never thought it would be against the law to pray
in school, although if you decided you wanted to murder your baby that would
be perfectly legal. It is a sad day in the US. I can only imagine how
God's heart is breaking as He looks down on the people of this nation that
He has so richly blessed, literally giving Him the middle finger.

Now more than ever, we need to be praying for our nation. You can see a
short video clip of when I was in Washington a few Saturdays ago to kick off
the 40 days of prayer, fasting, and repentance for our nation atwww.liveprayer.com by clicking on the American Flag icon. I pray you are
part of over 3 million people who are currently fasting and praying for our
nation each day through the 9th of June. May God have mercy on this wicked
land.

Mocking Jesus. I take no delight in being right about this, but back on
March 5th in my Devotional to follow-up the release of the movie The
Passion, I said, "Also, the great
perverter satan himself will be giving inspiration to those who hate God to
start putting out movies that are clearly anti-Christian." The fact is,
Hollywood puts out a steady diet of movies that mock our Lord, glorifying
everything that the Bible speaks against.

But in the wake of The Passion, a movie that touched millions of lives
worldwide in bringing us a visual image of Christ's suffering, letting us
see a glimpse of the pain and agony He endured in paying for OUR sins with
His very life, I knew that Hollywood would use its creativity to take direct
shots at Christians and Jesus.

Opening in theaters later this month is the first one of these films, it is
called "Saved." Set in a Christian High School, this movie is being
marketed to Christian youth even though it is designed to make them resent
and lead them from the Christian faith. As you may have guessed, those in
the movie trying to follow Christ are the villains and those who reject
Christ are the heroes.

I am advising Youth Pastors to see the movie so you are ready to expose this
blasphemous movie and its lies to those young adults who will see it. I
also think that once it comes out on video, and that should be pretty quick
since this movie will be an absolute bomb, you should rent it and get your
youth together to watch it.

This movie will provide lots of opportunities to show young adults that
Christ is our only hope and clearly drive home what I share often, rebellion
to God's Word brings consequences and obedience brings blessings. Doing it
our way never works, doing it God's way always works.

My point in talking about this movie today is not only to expose it for
making a mockery of our Lord and the Christian faith, but to challenge you
in your day to day life. Any time we make the choice to live in rebellion
to God's Word, WE make a mockery of our Lord. It is easy to point to those
who have chosen to live their lives rejecting the truth of God's Word,
however, they are only doing what you would expect from people who reject
the hope and love of Christ.

What we need to be aware of is how we are living OUR lives on a daily basis.
We are no better than the most hard-hearted heathen when we choose sin over
our Lord. We need to be aware that we are ALWAYS "on." The child of God is
a representative of our Lord literally 24/7. I tell you often that our
greatest witness is NOT what we say, but how we live our lives. This world
does watch us.

I love you and care about you so much. Hollywood will continue to produce
movies that mock the Christian faith and try to lead people away from the
truth of God's Word. You would think they would be smart enough to realize
that The Passion demonstrated there is an incredible audience that will
support Godly films that present Biblical truth. But their agenda is not to
promote the Kingdom of God, only the kingdom of man.

I will be praying for you as you make the many choices you do each and every
day. Praying that those choices will honor God and allow you to be a great
representative of our Lord to this lost and hurting world. The Bible tells
us that in these last days there will be those who mock the Lord. That is
why we must be busy each day sharing with this world that faith in Christ is
the ONLY hope there is. Let those who hate our Lord mock Him, while we who
know Christ share His love.

"To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his
glorious presence without fault and with great joy--to the only God our
Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our
Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen." (Jude 24,25)

In His love and service,
Your friend and brother in Christ,
Bill Keller (son of dirt)

***IF YOU LIVE IN MASSACHUSETTS AND YOUR CHURCH IS MARRYING PEOPLE OF THE
SAME SEX, RUN! ANY CHURCH OR PASTOR THAT MARRIES PEOPLE OF THE SAME SEX IS
AN ABOMINATION IN THE EYES OF GOD!

Will the Body of Christ finally wake up? In the 60's, prayer in public
schools became illegal. In the 70's, the Federal Government made it legal
for babies to be slaughtered. Now in the first decade of this new
millennium, God's definition of marriage has been
legally re-defined. Let me help you understand the reality of what happened
at one minute past midnight on May 17th, 2004 in the State of Massachusetts.
It is now legal for people of the same sex in that state to get married. It
is now only a matter of time before all 50 states will allow same-sex
couples to marry which will ultimately be upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court.

You will be getting hundreds of emails asking you to sign various petitions
about marriage in the coming weeks, they have already started to pour in.
They are nice
attempts, but will do nothing since it is too late. Same-sex marriages in
Massachusetts will be legal for two years before the people of that state
will have a chance to vote to stop it. It is questionable whether they
would ban same-sex marriages if that vote was held today. After two full
years of same-sex marriages, it will become such an accepted practice by
then that the people will vote to keep this new law.

That is only one state you say. Here is the problem. Not only will
same-sex couples from other states start flooding into Massachusetts to get
married making it the Las Vegas of same-sex marriage, but when these couples
decide to move to Ohio, Florida, Texas, or any other state, after being
LEGALLY married in Massachusetts, they will demand their marriage be
recognized in the state they move to.

Of course that state won't recognize their marriage and then you will get
tons of lawsuits filed in Federal Court demanding that these states
recognize their marriage. Eventually, they will find a Federal Judge to
agree with them, it will get appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court that will
ultimately force other states to recognize these same-sex marriages.

Let me say right now, just like there is no law that can stop someone from
praying, just like there is no law that can make killing your baby
acceptable, there is NO LAW that can rewrite God's definition of marriage
which is one man, one woman, for one lifetime! Marriage is a legal AND a
Holy Institution.

People ask me all the time, if we love each other and take vows before God
isn't that enough? The answer is NO! You need to fulfill the legal
requirements, a license in the state you are getting married in, in addition
to taking your vows before each other and before God.

***These people of the same sex that are now able to fulfill the legal
requirement of marriage are still NOT MARRIED in the eyes of God since while
sinful man may recognize their union, GOD WON'T!

As a side note, alcoholism, drug use, and suicide is many times higher in
the homosexual community than the heterosexual community. I will guarantee
you right now that as bad as the divorce rate is, it will be even HIGHER in
same-sex marriages. Also, now that same-sex couples will be legally
married, they will demand and receive the right to adopt children, meaning
there will now be children raised in this perverse environment never knowing
what a real family is supposed to be.

As sad as this day is in our nations history, it should not be surprising.
For those who have been reading the Daily Devotional I write each morning, I
have been telling you for years that this is no longer a Christian nation
and that we would be seeing events like this in our lifetime. It is so
appropriate that the Devotional last Friday was on unity within the Body of
Christ.

While we are busy arguing about whether you should speak in tongues or not,
states are passing laws to allow people of the same sex to get married.
While we are busy arguing what translation of the Bible we should read, the
10 BILLION dollar a year porn business is growing. While we are busy
arguing about what Preacher Bob is doing down the street, 4,000 innocent
babies every day are being slaughtered. Satan is sitting back in his
recliner with a bowl of popcorn, a drink, and laughing at us while we are
busy fighting each other and allowing him to do whatever he wants!!!

IT IS TIME THE BODY OF CHRIST WAKES UP! We need to face the reality that we
are NOT the majority in this nation, but that with God on our side we will
always have the majority and start acting like it. Our calling is clear, to
share the hope and love of Jesus Christ with this lost and hurting world.
He, and He alone is the only answer there is. We have got to get back to
the basic calling we have from God, and that is to share the truth of His
Word and the hope we have in His Son with this world we live in.

I love you and care about you so much. In my lifetime I have seen prayer in
school made illegal, abortion made legal, and now marriage between people of
the same sex a reality. We are a very evil and rebellious nation and God's
mercy must be endless to have not destroyed us for how we have turned our
back on Him and misappropriated His blessings. There is a faithful remnant
that loves the Lord and honors Him with their lives. I am sure that it is
only this remnant keeping us from receiving the judgment we are so deserved
of.

I will be praying for you today. Praying that you see this battle for what
it is, a battle for souls. Each one of us who knows the Lord has been
called to serve Him and must do our part to share His love with those we
meet in the course of our life each day. The good news is, Jesus is still
Lord and in the end, HE WINS. He told us that we would have trials and
tribulation, but to be of good cheer, for HE has overcome this world.

Even though Massachusetts has redefined marriage, the fact is, God's
definition is immutable, it will never change. It is ONE MAN, ONE WOMAN,
FOR ONE LIFETIME!

In His love and service,
Your friend and brother in Christ,
Bill Keller (son of dirt)

"Dear Bill -It is with a broken heart that I'm letting you know that Dale
had a massive and fatal heart attack on Thursday, May 13th. I know he
enjoyed your email messages for a long time and that he has communicated
with you, and encouraged you in your ministry. Dale has gone to be with
Jesus. Our memories of him are sweet. I thought you would like to know.
God Bless"

Sadly, I receive many emails like this every week. The death of someone we
love is a difficult part of this brief life we live. That is why we must be
grateful for each day God gives us, and never take our life for granted. It
is also why we must be prepared for the day we leave this life and help as
many as possible be prepared for that day as well. I had just communicated
with Dale a few days prior to his death. He is forever with the Lord he
loved, though he lives on in all of those lives he touched along his
journey.

How brief this life really is. For each one of us, the one certainty is
that one day this life will be over and we will pass into eternity. It is
not a question of if, only when. That is why I try often to reinforce to
you that we must live each day to its fullest. Our purpose in this life is
to serve and glorify God. When it is over, the only thing that we will take
with us from this life is our personal relationship with Christ. As real as
the fact is that one day we will die, we often take this life for granted.
From time to time however, we are confronted with our own mortality and it
helps us to refocus on what this life is really about.

In August of 2001, I had a chance to play in a charity golf tournament.
During these past 56+ months since Liveprayer started, I have had very
little time to play a game I enjoy. It was a very enjoyable round.
Beautiful country club near Brandon, Florida. Warm but overcast Florida
summer day. Wonderful people playing. Not to mention I actually played
pretty well for not having played much. On the 8th hole, I hit a 150 yard
approach a little short and ended up in a greenside bunker. I was talking
to the gentleman I was playing with as we approached the bunker. I have
always had a very bad habit of chewing on my tee while playing. Nervous
energy I guess. As I waited for another player in our foursome to hit his
shot, I took a deep breath and actually inhaled the tee.

At first, I didn't know what happened. Then, when I realized I had inhaled
the tee, I tried to cough it up. It became apparent that it would not come
out, and had gotten lodged in my throat part of the way down. One of the
men came running over and asked if he should call 911. I told him yes. At
this point, I realized the key was staying calm, and breathing. I was able
to breath through my nose, so that kept me from panicking. My playing
partner got behind me and tried to pop it out of me that way, but it was
lodged in my throat sideways and that didn't work. I could also now feel
some blood running down my throat, obviously from the cut in my throat where
the tee was lodged.

At this point, there was about a 30 second period when all of this was
happening where an incredible calm came over me. In a very clear and
concise way, I realized that I may actually die. You never know how these
things will play out, and that was a legitimate possibility. My thought at
this was one of gratitude. I remember clearly thanking God for such a
wonderful life. I wasn't praying for God to heal me, or take the tee out of
my throat. I wasn't begging for my life. I wasn't mad at God. I just had
a great peace about me, and an incredible sense of gratitude to God for
allowing me to live such a wonderful life.

It seemed that within seconds I forced myself to swallow hard and all of the
sudden felt the tee dislodge and go down. I drank some water, got my sand
wedge, and hit a great bunker shot within a few feet of the hole! I got
back to my golf cart and called my wife and simply told her how much I loved
her. Even though I was still spitting up blood from where my throat was cut
for the next several holes, I did finish the round. Needless to say, I have
been broken of the habit of chewing on tees!

I share this with you today just to remind you how precious life really is.
Not only how precious, but how quickly it can end. DON'T EVER TAKE YOUR
LIFE FOR GRANTED. EACH DAY IS A SPECIAL GIFT FROM GOD. Let me also say
that for anyone reading this today, that does not have 100% assurance that
if your life ends today you will spend eternity with God, the Bible says
TODAY is the day of salvation. Please take a few minutes, the most
important few minutes of your life, and go towww.liveprayer.com/bdy_salvatn.html .
.
Simply ask God to open your heart and then read it. Trust me when I tell
you that in the face of death, knowing that you will spend eternity with
Jesus, gives you a peace you can't even describe. For those who do know
Christ, make each day count, you just never know when it will be your last.
Make sure you do all you can to serve Him each day.

I love you and care about you so very much. I don't say that lightly,
especially today. Death is a part of the human experience. The Bible says
"O death, where is thy sting!" For those who have put their faith and trust
in Jesus Christ it is not an event to be feared, but one that simply marks
the end of our time in this life. Don't ever forget this important point.
Only God says when our work here is over. So have no fear. As long as He
still has work for us to do, we aren't going anywhere. I guess He still has
some work for me to do. I pray each day I am faithful to that work.

Dealing with the day to day problems of life. There is one thing that I am
certain of today, as you read this Devotional you have already, or will
throughout the day, face various problems. I am not talking about the major
issues we often have to battle like a serious health problem, a crisis in
our marriage, a major financial challenge, not having a job, being in
bondage to some sort of addiction, but about the small day to day problems
that come out of nowhere and have to be dealt with.

As you know, there is virtually no end to these types of problems. Losing
our keys, misplacing our wallet, something going wrong with our car, getting
a traffic ticket, something breaking in our home, spilling our coffee in the
morning, our computer isn't working, unexpected issues at work or school, a
confrontation with someone we meet, having a routine dentist appointment
turn into something more involved, stubbing your toe, not getting the apple
pie you ordered in your McDonalds lunch bag, your pet is sick....I could go
on for hours but I think you get my point.

Each day, just in the course of living through another 24 hours, there are
so many things in our life that happen. Many of these things are totally
out of our control and simply problems that we never expected but are
suddenly confronted with. I find that for many people, simply dealing with
the day to day problems life throws at them can be very challenging and
often overwhelming.

This is one of the reasons that I frequently tell you we must have a real,
committed, 24/7 relationship with the Lord. It would be nice if all of our
problems occurred at 11 a.m. on Sunday morning, but that is not reality.
The problems of life happen daily, and all throughout the day. I counsel
people to start their day in prayer and in the Word of God. It is not only
the best way to start your new day, but it will give you the focus and
strength to deal with whatever problems life may throw at you during the
course of that day

Paul said to, "pray without ceasing." I take that LITERALLY. I wake up
each morning in prayer and never hang up the phone. I spend the entire day
with that line to God open. God has given us the greatest resource there is
in the world, a direct line to Him. We are fools if we don't take full
advantage of it. There is nothing in your life that you will face that is
too big for God to handle, or TOO SMALL!

You have got to understand, God cares about you! He loves you! God cares
if your keys are lost. God cares if your car won't start. God cares if you
spill your coffee. God cares if your hot water heater isn't working. God
cares if your boss is giving you a hard time for no reason. God cares if
you have a cavity. God cares if your apple pie is missing. God cares about
every detail in your life. He loves you that much.

I love you and care about you too! I realize that you are facing lots of
challenges in your life today, many of those challenges you never even
expected when you woke up. I want to encourage you to "pray without
ceasing." Start your day in prayer, reading God's Word, and spend the
entire day with that line to God OPEN. Prayer demonstrates our dependence
on God. When we don't pray, we are depending on ourselves. John 15:5 tells
us "without me, you can do nothing." Why be so foolish to try and deal with
the day to day problems of life alone, when God is ready, willing, and able
to help us?

I will be praying for you today. Praying that no matter what problems life
may throw your way today, you will find your strength, your hope, and your
answers in the Lord. You will be amazed how much easier each day is when we
are operating in His strength and not ours. You will be amazed at how much
more peace and joy there is each day, despite the problems of life, when we
are relying on God and not ourselves.

This could be one of the most profound words I have ever shared with you
because it is so relevant and necessary to our daily lives. The key to
knowing God's peace, God's joy, and the abundance of this life, is by living
each day in constant communication with Him. Start your day in prayer and
keep that line open ALL DAY LONG. It won't make the problems of life go
away, but it is how you can live each day each day no matter what problems
life may throw at you.

In His love and service,
Your friend and brother in Christ,
Bill Keller (son of dirt)

***THIS DEVOTIONAL TODAY ON MENTAL ILLNESS AND DEPRESSION WILL BE A
BREAKTHROUGH FOR MANY PEOPLE TODAY. IF YOU SUFFER FROM SOME FORM OF MENTAL
ILLNESS OR DEPRESSION, PRAY RIGHT NOW AND ASK GOD TO OPEN YOUR HEART TO
RECEIVE THIS WORD. IT CAN CHANGE YOUR LIFE TODAY!!! IF YOU KNOW OF SOMEONE
THAT IS SUFFERING FROM SOME FORM OF MENTAL ILLNESS OR DEPRESSION, PLEASE GET
THIS DEVOTIONAL TO THEM. IT CAN CHANGE THEIR LIFE!!!

Mental illness and depression. An issue the church and most people refuse
to deal with, is the reality of mental illness and depression that so many
suffer from. Let me say right up front. Mental illness is just as real as
a broken leg. Just because it is not a visible illness, does not mean it is
not as real as someone with a broken bone, a bad heart, or any other
illness. MENTAL ILLNESS AND DEPRESSION ARE REAL!

I have shared with you in the past that God's number one instrument of
healing is called a DOCTOR. One of God's chief methods of healing is called

MEDICINE. Where do you think the incredible intelligence and the special
gift to be a doctor comes from? It comes from God! Where do you think the
incredible intelligence, and the inspiration to create medicine comes from?
It comes from God!

I want to encourage anyone today that is suffering from any form of mental
illness or depression to seek out the best professional help possible. God
has raised up mental health professionals and given men the wisdom to create
drugs to treat mental illness, so that you can live a normal and productive
life. Just like there is no reason to be ashamed to see a doctor if you
break your arm, just like there is no reason to be ashamed if you have to
take medicine to treat a kidney problem, there is no reason to be ashamed to
see a doctor or take the proper medication if you suffer from mental illness
or depression!

For many people that are suffering from depression, I want to help you find
the joy in life again. Many who suffer from depression have simply allowed
the events and circumstances of their life to overwhelm and paralyze them.
We learn at an early age how to deal with the day to day issues of life, how
to deal with problems. What happens to many who are depressed, is they have
simply been unable to cope with the things that have happened to them and
can't seem to get past certain problems in their life.

Feelings change all the time. Our feelings are based on our perception of
an issue or problem. For example, if you have $20,000 of debt and you are
only making $30,000 a year with nothing left over after the basic living
needs are met, you might perceive that $20,000 of debt to be a mountain that
is impossible to move. If you continue to focus on that mountain, it starts
to get bigger, and bigger, and soon your perception is that it is impossible
to ever be free from your debt. The longer you focus on the problem, the
bigger it becomes and that is when depression can set in. Depression is the
result of being hopeless.

However, even though you may have $20,000 of debt and are only making
$30,000 a year with nothing left over after your basic living needs are met,
you might look at that $20,000 of debt, not as a mountain impossible to
move, but simply an obstacle that has to be dealt with. In other words, you
don't focus on the mountain, but you focus on a way to move the mountain.
You come up with a plan to retire the debt over a period of time, and
instead of letting depression set in due to looking at the situation as
hopeless, you maintain a positive outlook since that debt is simply an issue
that has to be taken care of. Depression can't set in where there is hope.
Let me say that one more time. DEPRESSION CAN'T SET IN WHERE THERE IS HOPE!

The other part of the answer to depression is serving others. The Bible
teaches us that if we will be about our Father's business, our Father will
be about our business. If we will serve others, it is amazing how our own
problems become more manageable. If you are suffering from depression, let
me encourage you today to get out and start finding ways to serve others.
You see, when we serve others, we are serving God. Our God-given purpose in
this life is to serve and glorify God with our lives. Depression can't set
in when you are serving others. Let me say that one more time. DEPRESSION
CAN'T SET IN WHEN YOU ARE SERVING OTHERS!

I love you and care about you so much. I realize many people suffer from
some form of mental illness that is just as real as any other type of
illness. I will be praying today that those who are suffering from some
form of mental illness, will seek out the best professional help possible
and take advantage of whatever medication that is prescribed to treat you.
God is still in the healing business, and GOD CAN BRING HEALING TO THOSE
SUFFERING FROM MENTAL ILLNESS.

I will also be praying for those of you today who are suffering from
depression. The two-fold answer for overcoming your depression and finding
the joy of the Lord again in your life, is hope and service. Seeking the
Lord to give you wisdom and direction in finding a solution to whatever
problems or issues you are facing in your life. If you stay focused on
Christ, He will give you the hope to get victory over whatever you are
facing today.

The other part of the answer is finding ways to serve others. I pray that
you will get serious about finding ways to serve others. God has called us
to serve others, and when we are doing that, fulfilling our purpose in life,
our own problems simply don't seem as great. When you are busy serving
others, you don't have time to get depressed.

I pray that this word today will be a breakthrough in your life if you are
battling with mental illness or depression. God loves you very much. He
wants you to have joy in your life, despite whatever trials and tribulations
you may be experiencing. That joy comes from knowing Christ as our Savior.
When we know Christ, there is no such thing as being hopeless. When we know
Christ, we have a desire to serve Him by serving others. It is through
Christ that you can have victory over mental illness and depression!

In His love and service,
Your friend and brother in Christ,
Bill Keller (son of dirt)

The next attack on the United States. Of course, only God knows for sure,
but based on the reports from our intelligence community, the high degree of
hatred of the United States by very organized groups overseas, and common
sense, it is safe to assume that there will be additional acts of terror on
U.S. soil. With the horror of 9/11/2001 now almost 32 months behind us,
most people have returned to their normal day to day lives. That is a good
thing. Sadly however, most have lost the spiritual fervor that was so
apparent in the days and weeks following those horrible events that we lived
through.

In the aftermath of 9/11, people desperately turned to God for answers.
Churches were overflowing, prayer was everywhere, there was a spiritual
awakening as people realized just how fragile this life really is, and
countless lives were committed to Christ. However, just 32 short months
later, church attendance is back to where it was pre-9/11, prayer is not as
important any longer, and people are focused once again on the things of
this world without much concern for God and their spiritual lives.

It is sad how it takes a real crisis to get people to pay attention to God.
But people have not changed. When we read the Old Testament, we read how
the children of Israel would run to God when their enemies attacked. God
would help them gain victory, which would be followed by a season of peace
and prosperity. It was during that time of peace and prosperity the
children of Israel would start to forget God and fall into all types of sin.
Soon, their enemies would attack again, and they would once again run to
God. It was an oft repeated cycle.

Sadly, we are the same as the children of Israel. When the trials and
tribulations of life come upon us, we run to God. We find solace in Him
during our times of trouble. But soon the trouble passes, and there is a
time of peace in our lives. Sadly, during the times of peace we slowly move
away from God and often end up involved in sin of some kind. The storms of
life come upon us and once again, we run to the Lord for help. And just
like the children of Israel, the cycle is repeated over and over during the
course of our lives.

I love you and care about you so much. My word for you today is to run to
God NOW! Even if you are in that season of peace, stay close to Him. Just
because people are not blowing up buildings and killing innocent people does
not mean that we can relax and put God on the back-burner. There is just as
much evil in the world as there was on 9/11, just as many people lost,
hurting, looking for answers as there was in the aftermath of 9/11.

Only God knows the time of Christ's return. The Bible says it will be in
the "twinkling of an eye." But the indicators Jesus gave us in Matthew
chapter
24, and Paul gives us in 2 Timothy chapter 3 and 2 Peter chapter 3 all show
us that we are living in the last days. The time is running out. That is
why the
people of God MUST NOT be passive at this time. We can't simply wait
for the next incident to share Christ with this lost and hurting world.

If you had the knowledge right this moment, that the next attack on the
United States would be at Disneyworld in Orlando Florida one week from
today, what would you do? No doubt you would call all of the proper
authorities and when the date and time for the attack came, that entire area
would be evacuated. Nobody would be killed because you cared enough to
share the information you had.

Well, the fact is, the Bible clearly says that those who die without Christ
will be destined to everlasting separation from God their Creator. They
will be lost for eternity. The people of God possess the information that
can save people from everlasting darkness. Now, if someone chooses to not
listen, there is nothing that you can do. But how can you not at least take
the time to tell them? That is a responsibility EVERY child of God has and
must take seriously.

***I will pray today that you don't allow the peace that we are currently
experiencing today make you lazy and forget those around you who are looking
for answers in their life. I have no doubt that there will be future
attacks on
our nation, but I pray that we don't wait until the next crisis to be
serious about
sharing the hope and love of Jesus Christ with everyone God brings into our
life. After all, that is what God has commanded us to do.

In His love and service,
Your friend and brother in Christ,
Bill Keller

If I can help you in any way you can contact me through my personal email
at bkeller

Helping comfort those who have lost a close friend or loved one. One of the
questions I get daily here at Liveprayer is how to help someone who has lost
a friend or loved one. When dealing with any issue, I try to first go to
the Gospels and see how Jesus handled a similar situation in His life.
There are several occasions when our Lord was confronted with death.

The Bible says that "he had compassion." That gives us a roadmap. The
first thing we can do for someone is simply show compassion. It is not so
much what we say, but that we let them know we care. Just being there is
often the best thing you can do. Of course, praying for them is critical,
as is sharing with them that the only source of real comfort comes from God.

In these situations, we are often faced with the most difficult question of
all, why did God allow this to happen? We obviously have no answer. There
are never any good answers. The only thing that we can do is try and
help them understand that God is in control, and although we may never know
why something happened, it is a time to exercise our faith and trust God.
Often, these can be great witnessing opportunities for those who are not
saved. This is a time when many people are most open to the spiritual side
of their life and are looking for meaning and purpose.

I have a personal belief after many years of ministry that one reason some
people die when they do is because the Lord uses it to break through to a
hardened heart and allow many to know His love. Just sharing with them that
there is a Divine plan and purpose for each of us, and God loves us, can
often be the comforting words someone needs to hear to help them.
Ultimately, it is only God who can ease the pain and heartache a person goes
through during this tragic time.

Unfortunately, there is no exact formula since everyone handles grief in a
different way. Having compassion, praying, sharing the love of God are the
three things that can at least be a comfort to someone in that position. I
wish there were better words, more definite instruction that I could share
with you to help you as you face these times in your life. Know this, God
is the only source of true comfort there is. Prayer does work. Showing
people the love of Christ in these difficult times can be one of the
strongest
witnesses you will ever give.

I will be praying for you today, that as you have the opportunity in your
life to help someone through this difficult time, God will use you in a
great and mighty way. It is at these times when we can really fulfill our
purpose of serving Him, to allow Him to use us as an instrument of comfort
to
someone who is hurting. Don't run from these opportunities, but be ready
for
them and embrace them.

I love you, I care about you, and I am looking forward to one day meeting
each and every one of you in this life or in Heaven. Death is part of life,
but for those who know Christ as their Savior, everlasting life with our
Creator is our eternal destination. It will be a great day when we have a
Liveprayer reunion in Glory and I get to meet each and every one of you who
have made my life so special by allowing me to share our Lord with you each
day!!! May you be richly blessed this day as we work together for His
Kingdom!

In His love and service,
Your friend and brother in Christ,
Bill Keller

Having the blessings of God! I would assume that most reading this today
have no clue who Obed-Edom was. If you turn in your Bible to the sixth
chapter of the book of Second Samuel, you will read about Obed-Edom in
verses 10-12. He was a Gittite, a native of the Philistine city of Gath and
it was in his home that David stored the Ark of the Covenant for 90 days.
Interesting Bible trivia you say? NO! The reason Obed-Edom is important to
YOU today is because the Bible says that, "The LORD has blessed the
household of Obed-Edom and everything he has, because of the Ark of God."

You see my friend, in the Old Testament there was no Holy Spirit. God did
not dwell with men, men had to dwell with God. Prior to the day of
Pentecost and the promise of the "comforter" (the Holy Spirit that now
indwells a believer at the moment of salvation), man had to physically go to
be in the presence of God. God's people followed the Shekinah cloud of
glory, signifying God's presence, protection, and guidance. The Ark of the
Covenant was where God's presence was found. Man had to physically go to be
in the presence of God.

The Bible tells us that the "Ark of God" was in the house of Obed-Edom for
90 days. Please, I do not want you to miss this. Because the "Ark" was in
his house, the Bible actually tells us that not only was the household of
Obed-Edom blessed, but EVERYTHING he had. Most people just gloss over this.
I want you to stop for a moment and consider what the Bible says. His
household and everything he had was blessed. Why? Because of the presence
of God.

WHERE YOU FIND GOD, YOU WILL FIND HIS BLESSINGS!!!

Do you want your house to be blessed today? Do you want "everything you
have" to be blessed today? Then you must bring the presence of God into
your home!!! God's presence is no longer a "pillar of cloud" that you must
follow, but it resides in every person that has accepted Christ as their
Savior. This is very heavy so listen to me carefully. If you know Jesus
Christ as your Savior by faith, the presence of God resides within you. You
are bringing the presence of God into your home every time you step inside
the door.

Never forget what I tell you so often. Rebellion to God brings
consequences, obedience to God brings blessings. If you want God's
blessings on your household and everything you have, you have to be living
in obedience to God. Are you being a Godly husband or wife in your home?
Are you being a Godly son or daughter in your home? If you have children,
are you being a Godly parent to your children? Is God honored in your home?
Is what plays on your television, on your radio, on your computer, honoring
God? Are the activities that take place in your home honoring God?

If you want God's blessings, you have to live a life of obedience to God.
If you want your home to be blessed, you have to have a home where God is
welcome and honored. If you want God's blessings on everything you have,
you have to honor God in everything that you do. God loves to bless His
children, and God wants to bless you today. Not just you, but your
household and everything you have!

I love you and care about you so much. We are so blessed that we don't have
to physically go to be in the presence of God any longer, but God's presence
actually dwells with us if we know Jesus Christ as our Savior by faith. You
don't have to have the Ark of the Covenant in your home to have God's
presence. God's presence exists because you are there. If God is not
blessing your household and everything you have, it is because you are not
honoring God with your life!

I want to challenge you today. God blessed the household of Obed-Edom and
everything he had because the presence of God was in his home for those 90
days. In just 90 days, having God in his home brought God's blessings. If
you want the blessings of God in your home, on everything you have, then
take these next 90 days and make your home a place where God is honored.
Again, God blesses our obedience. As you invite His presence into your
home, He will bless your household and everything you have.

In His love and service,
Your friend and brother in Christ,
Bill Keller

***THIS DEVOTIONAL TODAY IS INCREDIBLY PERSONAL AND CAN BE THE BREAKTHROUGH
MANY HAVE BEEN PRAYING FOR. BEFORE YOU READ IT, TAKE A MINUTE AND PRAY, AND
ASK GOD TO OPEN YOUR HEART TO THE TRUTH OF THIS WORD TODAY. THE FACT IS,
YOU CAN LIE TO YOUR SPOUSE, YOU CAN LIE TO YOUR FAMILY, YOU CAN LIE TO YOUR
FRIENDS, YOU CAN LIE TO YOUR PASTOR....BUT YOU CAN'T LIE TO GOD. EVEN
THOUGH WE OFTEN TRY, GOD SEES, AND KNOWS OUR HEART. TODAY CAN BE A
BREAKTHROUGH DAY FOR YOUR LIFE, A DAY THE YOKE OF BONDAGE IS RELEASED, IF,
IF, YOU ARE READY TO BE HONEST WITH GOD.

Our secret sins. My heart is breaking this morning, because I know that
many who read these words this morning are hurting. To those in your life,
everything looks wonderful. Many envy you. Most see you as a person who is
strong in the Lord and a pillar of faith. You are a businessperson, a mom,
a dad. A son, a daughter, a pastor. You serve God in many ways. You
love God. You have put your faith in Christ. But there is sin in your
life. Secret sin. Sin nobody else sees. Sin that possibly has been part
of your life for many, many years. Sin that you have swept into a back
closet so nobody else would know about it. SIN THAT IS KEEPING YOU
FROM THE JOY, THE PEACE, THE ABUNDANCE THAT GOD HAS PROMISED FOR YOUR LIFE.

What is this sin? For each person that is different. For some it is
alcohol. The two beers each night, the scotch after work, have become so
much a part of your life that even though you are not classified as an
alcoholic, you know and God knows, that you HAVE to have it. THAT is a
problem. Some of you woke up this morning after not sleeping well because
you are deeply involved in gambling. Possibly you owe a local bookie for
sports bets. Or maybe it is those lottery tickets you HAVE to buy each day.
Or maybe it is the local casino down the road that you just can't stay out
of. Just as bad are those who play the markets each day, not investing for
the future, but looking for the daily "hit."

Others of you are dealing with sexual sins. Pornography is the easiest
since it can be just you and your movies, or magazines, or computer.
Possibly you have evolved past the solo stage and it involves other people.
Still others of you are secretly involved in drugs, legal and illegal.
Actually, those who use prescribed drugs to get that "high" outside of the
medicinal purposes it was designed for, is a MUCH larger problem than the
more publicized illegal drug problem. However, that is a multi-billion
dollar a year industry so SOMEBODY is buying all that cocaine, pot, heroin,
meth, ecstasy, and the rest. Still others of you are involved in the sin of
greed. Making money is more than just a way to support yourself and family,
it is an obsession. Money is your drug of choice. And of course, there are
a multitude of other sins people are secretly involved in.

You see my friend, the Bible says that the enemy comes to kill, steal, and
destroy. That verse is talking about believers. How does that happen? We
know that if we give our lives to Christ by faith we are saved. The enemy
can't have our souls. But he can destroy us from being the productive
servants God has called us to be. The easiest way to do that is to get us
trapped in sin. Sin is like cancer. It starts out almost innocently. But
is grows, and spreads. Very few who are involved in gambling, don't drink.
Very few involved in drugs are not involved in sexual sins. Very few are
tied to just one secret sin. As a matter of fact, once you let sin into
your life, and practice sin, it opens the door for other sins. You see, at
some point it doesn't matter any longer. The great justifier satan says,
"oh well, you already are this deep, what harm could a little more sin do?"
This my friend is the trap. It is like quicksand. You get in, and get
deeper, and deeper, and deeper, and getting out becomes harder, and harder.

I realize that this word today has made some turn their computer off, some
have hit the delete button, and others are sitting right now in tears. You
see, the Holy Spirit is talking to YOU! God is speaking to you this moment
louder than He could if he were on a public address system at a stadium. He
is talking to YOU, and saying READ THIS...THIS IS YOU!!! The Prodigal Son
came from a Godly, good home. I think when he went out, he was a good
person. I think like many brothers and sisters in Christ, he simply allowed
sin to enter into his life, and it ate him up to the point of near
destruction. But in the end, he knew when he hit the bottom, there was only
one place to go...HOME to his father!

Were there consequences for his sin? YES! His inheritance was gone, he
suffered the damage of the horrible experiences he encountered. He probably
had some health issues. But the point was, when he "came to himself" he
went home! ***MY WORD FOR YOU TODAY IS THAT GOD LOVES YOU. GOD CARES ABOUT
YOU. NO AMOUNT OF SIN CAN EVER STOP HIM FROM LOVING YOU. READ 1 JOHN 1:9.
YOU DON'T HAVE TO CONTINUE IN YOUR SIN, BUT YOU CAN STOP TODAY AND LET GOD
HELP YOU. THE CHOICE IS YOURS. AT THE END OF THE ROAD YOU ARE ON IS
DESTRUCTION. GOD IS THE FLAGMAN WITH THE ORANGE VEST SAYING ...STOP NOW!!!!

I love you and care about you so much. I wish I was able to help make it
all OK by snapping my fingers. I would, but that is not reality. Sin
didn't start overnight, didn't occur overnight, and the effects of sin won't
go away overnight. As a matter of fact, they will be with you the rest of
your life. Sadly, that is one of sin's byproducts. But you can have
victory over sin today! Today can be the first day of victory over sin in
your life. But the first step MUST BE YOURS!!!!

I will be praying for you today. There is victory in this life, victory in
Jesus. The biggest trap we as Christians must avoid are those secret sins
that will eat away at us from the inside. Destroy us from the inside. Make
us virtually useless in serving God. Never forget, our purpose in this life
is to serve and glorify Him with our lives. The easiest way for the enemy
to stop us from fulfilling that purpose is to get us entangled in sin in our
lives. We can live FREE from sin if we choose to.

That is what God is calling you to do today. Turn from your secret sin, and
turn fully, 100% to Him. Again, know that I am praying for you. I can't do
this for you, YOU have to do it. But know that I am here praying for you,
standing with you for victory over the sin in your life. God will
strengthen you, embolden you, and help you see victory. The first step
however is yours. The prodigal son had to go home before he could get
victory. Bury your pride since God already knows the full story, and go to
Him today. My prayers are with you to turn from your secret sin!

In His love and service,
Your friend and brother in Christ,
Bill Keller

If this devotional is a blessing to you, maybe you have a friend or
family member that would like to start receiving this daily word. You
can forward this to them, and they can use the following link to subscribe.www.liveprayer.com/signup.htm

***40 DAYS OF FASTING, PRAYER, AND REPENTANCE FOR OUR
NATION! DAY THIRTY-EIGHT. Join a group of over 3,000,000 people who are
committed to fast and pray for our nation to turn back to the God of the
Bible during this 40 day period. Today's prayer focus: Unity in the Body of
Christ.

DAILY DEVOTIONAL MONDAY JUNE 7, 2004
(Acts 4:20, Revelation 12:11)

***Today we remember and honor the life and service to our nation of
President Ronald Reagan who passed away Saturday. May God be with the
Reagan family as they draw on His strength at this time. Whether you agreed
with
his politics or not, President Reagan was a great example of someone that
made the most out of the time God gave him in this life. He lived his life
to make a difference in the world. May we learn from his example that we
only get one chance at life and make the most of it. May we never forget
that no matter how much we accomplish in this life, when it is over there is
only one thing that will matter...do you know Jesus Christ as your Savior by
faith. The Daily Devotional on Tuesday will dedicated to President Reagan.

Sharing how good and GREAT our God is. By far the Devotional everyone looks
forward to is the 4 times a year I share some of the incredible praise
reports we receive every single day here at Liveprayer. One of the things
that I wish I could do, is let you read all of these great praise reports.
Even though we deal with email names and unseen people, I never forget for a
moment that there is a very REAL person in need at the other end that God
loves very much. It is amazing each day to see God healing people,
restoring marriages, providing necessary finances, and meeting every kind of
need imaginable.

We currently have an archive of over 1,300,000 Praise Reports that we have
received in over 57 months of ministry here on the Internet. Satan hates
the "word of testimony" because it gives people hope. No matter what you
are facing in your life today, never forget that the same God who has
brought someone else out of the valley and led them to victory, is the very
same God that will lead YOU out of the valley and to victory. Please enjoy
this special Devotional of PRAISE REPORTS.

"I have been watching you on and off for about a year, and I just wanted to
say that I thought you did an excellent job with Joe of Mons Venus. I was
worried the show was going to become combative like so many talk shows do. I
think Joe was prepared for that too. Instead I was treated to an example of
how a Christian should act, to respect others, to show love even when it is
obvious we disagree. St.Francis of Assisi is credited with saying, "Preach
always, and when necessary use words." You did this with Joe. Joe was not
ready to hear God's word Friday night, but I do think Joe will remember how
he was treated by you, a Christian. Maybe, just maybe when Joe is ready to
hear the Word, he will realize he has a friend in you. Thank you for
showing me the true meaning of WWJD."

"I asked for prayers last week for my friend to find her missing daughter in
Florida. Her daughter called her on Mothers Day. Thank you. She hadn't
heard from her since Nov.!"

"Bill, I just wanna praise God and thanked Him for the need I have shared
with you concerning my Child Maintenance case on Monday 17 May 2004 at 8.30
am that your/my prayers have been answered. Brother Bill, I have won the
case, and the father's child will start to pay money into her account number
by the end of May. Thank God for His answers to our prayers and I believe &
trust God can do impossible things. Amen!! Praise God!"

"I just wanted to write a note to you to let you know that my co-workers and
I really appreciate your daily devotionals. Most of the people here eagerly
anticipate my presence at work in the morning to forward these devotionals
to them. It has helped and encouraged many people within this company. Thank
you for your labor."

"Bill.....just wanted you to know prayers were answered AGAIN by our
faithful Father. The body of Christ has so much power in their prayers, it's
a shame we sometimes forget it and lose hope. Thanks for the prayers."

NOW YOU KNOW WHY I AM SO PASSIONATE ABOUT WHAT I DO EACH DAY, AND WHY I AM
WORKING SO HARD TO EXPAND THE OUTREACH OF LIVEPRAYER. GOD HAS RAISED UP
THIS GREAT INSTRUMENT IN THESE LAST DAYS TO TRANSFORM LIVES. IT IS YOUR
LOVE, YOUR PRAYERS, AND YOUR SACRIFICIAL GIFTS THAT MAKES ALL OF THIS
POSSIBLE!

FOR THE MILLIONS WE ARE ABLE TO SHARE THE HOPE AND LOVE OF CHRIST WITH EACH
DAY, THANK YOU!!!

In His love and service,
Your friend and brother in Christ,
Bill Keller

***TODAY'S DEVOTIONAL IS IN HONOR OF OUR NATION'S 40TH PRESIDENT, RONALD
WILSON REAGAN. AS OUR NATION MOURNS HIS LOSS, OUR PRAYERS ARE WITH HIS WIFE
NANCY AND FAMILY.

Having the guts to lead. Whether you agreed with his politics or not, the
fact is President Ronald Reagan was a leader in every sense of the word. A
leader is a person with vision, the guts to stand up and declare that
vision, the ability to inspire others to follow, the fortitude to persevere
despite whatever opposition there may be, and the patience to see that
vision become a reality. I want to use the life of President Reagan today
to challenge you in your personal life to make the most of each day God
gives you.

As I have shared with you often, our life on this earth is so brief and over
so quick. James calls it a "vapor." The Bible clearly teaches that
tomorrow is promised to none of us. That is why we must make the most of
each and every day. There are no do-overs. When this journey is over, it
is over, we are not coming back. This is our one and only shot.
Understanding that, it should become the desire of each of us to make each
day count and live it to the fullest.

Very few people in their life will have the opportunity to become the
President of the United States or the leader of a nation. However, EVERY
PERSON has the ability to make a difference in this world no matter what you
have been called to do. I don't care if you are 15 or 115, rich or poor,
male or female, what color your skin is, YOU can make an impact on this
world with your life.

God gives each of us passions, things that we develop a love for throughout
our life. God gives each of us gifts, special abilities that come naturally
to us. Throughout our life God opens and closes doors. It is through these
passions we have, through the gifts we have received and developed, and
through the opportunities that life presents us, that each person can make
an impact on this world during the course of their life.

You see, God needs His children in every area of life. He calls His
children to be teachers, doctors, scientists, astronauts, pilots, police
officers, fire fighters, secretaries, bank tellers, garbage collectors,
janitors, nurses, homemaker, car dealers, mechanics, farmers, politicians,
entertainers, lawyers, writers, stock brokers, and any other profession you
can name. Throughout the course of a person's life, God may call someone to
do many different things. The point is, whatever career or profession you
are in, you can make a difference. The key is to do your very best each day
and realize that your life matters.

Of course, no matter how much we may accomplish in our life, our greatest
legacy will be those lives we touch for Christ along our journey. You see
my friend, no matter what your passions may be, what your gifts may be, what
career or occupation you have, we all have the same purpose in this life.
That is to serve and glorify God with our lives. All that we do in this
life comes back to our God-given purpose which is to serve and glorify Him.
The money we accumulate, the property we own, all of the things of this
world will one day pass away, but those lives we impact for Christ will last
for eternity!

I love you and care about you so much. As a nation, we mourn the death of a
great man. President Reagan had a full life and used his life to make a
difference in this world. The example from his life I want to challenge you
with today is that YOU can make a difference in this world too. You may
never become President of the United States, but you can make a difference
in whatever career or occupation you are in. The key is to wake up each
morning, do the very best you can, and as God opens doors in your life be
bold enough to walk through them.

Of course, never forget that no matter where God may have you working during
each season of your life, He has placed you there as His ambassador. You
are not there by accident, but God has placed you where you are at in life
to share with others you meet along your journey the hope and love of Jesus
Christ and the truth of His Word. That will be your real legacy when this
brief journey is over, those lives you impact for Christ.

The reality of this life is that one day, sooner than any of us expect, it
will be over. At that moment we will be instantly in the presence of God
our Creator (2 Cor 5:8). At that moment, God is not going to be interested
in the name of the church you attended, what your job was in this life, even
if you were the President of the Untied States, how much money you have, or
how many buildings have your name on them. No my friend, the only thing God
is going to be interested in is do you have a personal relationship with His
Son Jesus Christ. For those who do, God will say, "enter into my rest."
AMEN!

My word to you today is this. Go out and make an impact in this world in
whatever God has called you to do with your life. Make your life matter!
Along the way, never forget that you have been called to serve and glorify
Him with your life and your lasting legacy will be those lives you touch for
Christ along your journey!

In his love and service,
Your friend and brother in Christ,
Bill Keller

If this devotional is a blessing to you, maybe you have a friend or
family member that would like to start receiving this daily word. You
can forward this to them, and they can use the following link to subscribe.www.liveprayer.com/signup.htm

Loving the things of this world. The enemy is so subtle in the way he
works. One of my goals from time to time is to expose his tricks so that
you won't be fooled and have to live through the consequences of falling
into one of his many traps. How easy we get distracted from our eternal
mission and goals, and get focused instead on the meaningless things of this
temporal world that will one day be gone.

I think about a few years ago, when millions were glued to their TV sets
watching that horrible perversion of God's plan for marriage, "Who Wants To
Marry A Millionaire." Most laughed at the show, but what a horrible message
it sent to so many without any kind of Biblical foundation about how God's
sacred institution of marriage was little more than a way for TV networks to
get ratings. Or professional wrestling, one of the most popular programs on
TV. Entertainment? Is it really entertaining to watch a huge man body slam
a woman through a table? Is that what our "entertainment" has deteriorated
to?

The reason I address these issues today is to share that even Christians can
get out of focus in their daily lives. It would be nice to assume that
everyone watching these types of programs, everyone going into adult
bookstores, everyone that buys drugs, everyone that is engaging in so many
ungodly activities each day, were simply "the lost." But unfortunately that
is not the case.

Many good, saved, churchgoing people get caught up in the things of this
world because they have allowed the temporary, short-term allure of sin to
capture their mind. They have focused on the things of this world instead
of on the things of God. For most, it happens slowly over a period of time.
But by continually focusing on the things that this world has to offer
instead of the things of God, they have ended up on roads that they never
thought they would be on.

I am not telling you that you should stop having fun. I am however, issuing
a warning to you today that when you start focusing too much on the things
of this world and not enough time on the things of God, you are inviting
major problems into your life. Remember, in the world there is no right or
wrong,there is no absolute truth. That is a lie from the pits of hell and
why I encourage you daily to stay in the Bible, because God's Word IS
ABSOLUTE TRUTH. IT IS RIGHT AND WRONG.

The world's goal is to be politically correct and not to offend anyone. The
truth in God's Word is highly offensive to many because it lays out clearly
what is right and what is wrong, and those living in rebellion to God are
then reminded that the free will choices they have made are not in God's
will. I guess my question for you today is, are you more concerned with
pleasing the world, or pleasing God?????

I love you and care about you. I will be praying for you today to keep your
focus on God, and not get distracted by the things of this world. I am so
thankful for those of you who have been able to stand with me in this work
here at Liveprayer. One day in Heaven you will get a tap on your shoulder
and someone will tell you how they gave their life to Christ, or got through
a difficult time because of Liveprayer. YOU help make that possible each
and every day with your prayers and support of this ministry. Thank you!

Let me close today again with a simple question, "is your mind focused more
on the things of this world or the things of God?" Pray about that today.

In His love and service,
Your friend and brother in Christ,
Bill Keller

***AFTER WRITING THIS DEVOTIONAL EVERY DAY FOR ALMOST 58 MONTHS NOW, THIS
IS BY FAR ONE OF THE BEST, SPIRIT-LED DEVOTIONALS THAT I HAVE EVER WRITTEN
IN REGARD TO THE CHRISTIAN FAITH. YOU SHOULD FORWARD IT TO EVERYONE THAT
YOU KNOW. FIND WAYS TO GET IT POSTED ON YOUR CHURCH
BULLETIN BOARD, AT THE WATER COOLER WHERE YOU WORK, EVERYWHERE THAT YOU
POSSIBLY CAN. EITHER GOD IS REAL...OR HE IS NOT!!!

Either God is real, or He is not! One of the things that has greatly
troubled me recently, is the number of people who say that they believe in
God, say that they are a Christian, yet have no problem supporting choices
that are clearly defined in God's Word as sin. My friend, Jesus said it
best when He said that "no man can serve two masters." The Christian faith
is not a smorgasbord where you can pick and choose what you like. You can't
claim to have faith in Christ, yet support the things that the Bible speaks
against. To borrow a political term, THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A CHRISTIAN
MODERATE . Either God is real, or He is not.

Let me first clarify what a Christian is. A Christian is a person who has
made the personal choice to repent of their sins and ask Jesus into their
heart by faith (John 3:16, Romans 10:10, Ephesians 2:8,9). It is your
personal faith in Christ that makes you a Christian. The church you belong
to cannot save you. Having a priest or pastor baptize you when you were a
baby did not save you. Living a good life does not save you. The fact
that your parents are Christians cannot save you. Only making the choice
to repent of your sins and ask Christ into your heart makes you a Christian.

***If this is something that you have never done, the Bible says that TODAY
is the day of salvation. Pray, ask God to open your heart, then click on
this link and read what is written: www.liveprayer.com/bdy_salvatn.html .
God
has made it so easy, but it is a choice that only YOU can make.

Once you have gotten to this point, the next step is that you MUST accept
the Bible as God's inspired, inerrant Word. ***It is IMPOSSIBLE to be a
Christian and not accept the Bible as God's Word. You see, to come to
Christ by faith, you have accepted that this is God's plan to give His
creation, which is separated from Him because of their sin, a way to come
back into a relationship with Him. This is God's ONLY plan!

That is why faith in Buddha will not save you. That is why faith in
Muhammad will not save you. That is why faith in a golden statue will not
save you. It is ONLY faith in Jesus Christ that saves you because it was
Jesus Christ who God sent to die for your sins! He was God's perfect
sacrifice to give fallen man a way back into everlasting fellowship with
Him. So if you accept THAT, then you have to accept the ENTIRE BIBLE as
God's inspired, inerrant Word. It can't be only partially right!!!

The reason is God cannot lie. The Bible is an all or nothing proposition,
it is either ALL true, or NONE of it is true. This is very serious, so
please hear what I am saying to you today. You can't live your faith with
one foot in the world, and one foot in the church. You either believe it
all, or you don't really believe any of it. Either God is true, and we can
count on EVERYTHING He says, or God is a liar, and we are the most foolish
of all people. My friend, there is NO MIDDLE GROUND!!!

This is where so many Christians break down in their life. They simply
don't want to let go of the things of this world. The fact is, this life is
only a brief journey anyway. When it is over, the things of this world will
be gone, and the ONLY thing that you will be left with is the fact that you
have Christ in your heart, or you have rejected His love for you. PERIOD.

I love you and care for you so much. I realize that this is difficult for
so many of you to read. I already know that there will be thousands of very
angry emails about how intolerant I am, how the Christian faith is horrible
for excluding so many good people. The fact is, the only thing intolerant
about the Christian faith is accepting sin in a person's life. Would a
parent feed their child a plate of garbage to eat? Of course not. Why?
Because they love them and know that it would be very harmful to them. When
God says don't sin, He is saying don't eat a plate of garbage because it is
harmful to you.

As for the Christian faith being exclusionary. That is the FARTHEST thing
from the truth. The Bibles says "whosoever believes in Him shall not
perish." Whosoever is potentially EVERYONE. Everyone has the opportunity to
accept Jesus Christ into their hearts and accept God's free gift of
everlasting
life. I don't find that exclusionary, but IN-CLUSIONARY!

I will be praying for you today. Praying above all that you realize how
serious it is to make a full and total commitment of your life to the Lord.
The fact is, when we ask Him into our hearts, the Bible says that it is no
longer our life, but that it belongs to Him. We surrender our life to Him.
I realize as much as anyone how unpopular our faith can be to the world that
we live in. The sad fact is, much of that world is lost, hurting, and
living without ANY hope. They have chosen to reject God and live life the
way they want to. That is fine. God has given everyone the free will to
make that choice.

Sadly though, no matter how they may appear on the outside, inside they
never experience the true joy, peace, and abundance that this life has to
offer. As they get older, they start to realize that there has to be more to
life, and in their search for God, get caught up in every kind of New Age,
crazy philosophy that exists. What they are REALLY looking for is the peace
that ONLY comes from a personal relationship with Christ.

As a Christian, you, me, each one of us, is called to be a light to this
dark world that we live in. We can ONLY let our light shine bright when we
are living fully, 100% for HIM. If you believe that God is real, THEN LIVE
EACH DAY FOR HIM!!!

In His love and service,
Your friend and brother in Christ,
Bill Keller

Putting your troubles on hold. For most, today is the start of the weekend.
The weekend is a time to get away from the pressures of work and relax.
Even if you have to work during the weekend, let me encourage you to
spend as much time as possible in the next couple of days putting your
troubles on hold and focusing instead on rest and relaxation. I am not
trying to minimize the complex and difficult situations many of you are
facing, but we MUST find pockets of time in our life to put the burdens down
and simply rest.

You are much better equipped to handle life's problems when you are fresh
and energized, than when you are tired and running on fumes. It is in those
run down times when our problems look insurmountable and we are most apt to
become depressed and lose hope. Even Jesus had to get away once in a while
to recharge his physical body.

A time of rest does many things for you. It helps you to regain your
physical strength. However, just as important, it allows you to regain your
mental strength. Fighting day after day wears us down mentally and we get
so focused on our problems that we lose sight of possible alternatives that
may help us in our struggles. Getting worn down also causes us to lose
perspective causing us to forget that God is still in control.

Most important though, a time of rest helps us to refocus on our personal
relationship with the Lord. In the midst of our trials, we can miss out on
that daily, intimate time with Him which just compounds our problems. That
time of rest allows us to not only recharge our bodies and minds, but our
relationship with the Lord.

Just hours before going to the cross, Jesus told His disciples that in this
life they would have many trials. He did not want them to be deceived into
thinking that just because they had walked with Him, they were immune from
life's problems. But He promised them that He would always be with them. We
are heirs to that promise as follower's of Christ. It is the Christ living
in us that gives us the ability to live victorious lives.

Never lose sight that the Bible tells us that we are more than conquerors
through Him. That means whatever you are facing today, whatever obstacles
may be in your life, because of Jesus, you can overcome them and be
victorious. So in these next few days while you rest, while you recharge,
dwell not on your problems.....but in the fact that you have total victory
in
Jesus!

I love you and care about you. I pray that you will have a wonderful few
days of rest and relaxation, that you will be able to spend quality time
with family and friends, and that most important you will spend some quality
time with the Lord.

He loves you, cares about you, and will make you adequate each day for the
challenges that you face. Focus on living life in His strength and not your
strength, and those burdens won't seem as heavy. Enjoy the weekend as you
put your troubles on hold, and find that peace that passes all human
understanding in Him.

In His love and service,
Your friend and brother in Christ,
Bill Keller

If this devotional is a blessing to you, maybe you have a friend or
family member that would like to start receiving this daily word. You
can forward this to them, and they can use the following link to subscribe.www.liveprayer.com/signup.htm

DAILY DEVOTIONAL MONDAY JUNE 21, 2004
(Genesis 12:1-3, Matthew 9:9)

***I want to start you this week with a real challenge. God has been
speaking to you about aspects of your life, the Devotional last week on
being like Jesus, and about your service to the Kingdom. GOD IS SPEAKING TO
YOU LOUD AND CLEAR THROUGH THESE WORDS TODAY....LISTEN TO HIM....THAT IS
WHERE THE BLESSINGS AND THE FULFILLMENT TO THIS LIFE IS FOUND!!!

How can you say no to God? Every day people ask us to do things for them.
Family members, friends, co-workers, often total strangers ask us to do
something for them. In the course of our daily lives, the people that mean
the most to us will ask us to do something special for them. It may be a
parent or a sibling, it may be our spouse, it may be a very close friend, or
it could be someone that we look up to and respect like our boss or pastor.
All throughout our life people ask us to do things for them, and we do our
best to do what they ask.

What about when God asks you to something for Him? Why are we able to do
things for others but not for God? I have often wondered how many God
called to do the job that Abraham did. Human beings have not changed since
the Garden of Eden. Knowing that fact, I have no doubt that God called many
men before He called Abraham who said yes to God.

Likewise, when Jesus called Matthew to follow Him, how many before Matthew
said no? Throughout history we have men and women that God called to do
great things for the Kingdom. I often wonder who God may have called to do
that work, but turned God down.

Some of the most disappointing times in my life have been those when God
was calling me to do something for Him and I said no. I was too busy. It
wasn't the right time. I had MY SCHEDULE and what God was asking me to do
didn't fit in. God really didn't need me, He would find someone else.
There are a million excuses that we can come up to basically tell God, NO.

In looking back now, how could I have ever said no to God? This is GOD!!!
The creator of the Heavens and the earth. MY CREATOR!!! God Himself came
to me and said, "Bill, will you do something for me?" and I said NO! If a
complete stranger came up to me and asked me to do something for them, as
long as it was not something outrageous I would most likely do it. Yet I
tell God no???

I love you and care about you so much. The sad reality is that when we say
no to God, we are the one that loses. God blesses us for our obedience.
When we say no to God we miss our blessing. Our purpose in this life is to
serve and glorify Him. When we say no to God, we are not fulfilling our
purpose.

The greatest calling we have in this life is what God asks us to do for Him.
When we say no to God, we miss our calling. The reality is, when we say no
to God, He calls someone else to do what He asked us to do. Someone else is
answering the call of God on their life, fulfilling their purpose and
receiving the blessing we could have had. The work of God does not stop
because we say no to God. It simply goes on without us.

I will be praying for you today. As I say often, we only get one shot at
life. This is it. MAKE IT COUNT! The fact is, God has a Divine plan and
purpose for each one of us. Our purpose in this life is to serve and
glorify Him with our lives. There is nothing greater that we can do with
our life than to serve our God. It is an honor and a privilege that He
gives us to work for Him. In faithfully and obediently serving God, we are
blessed beyond all that we could ever ask or think.

MAKE YOUR LIFE COUNT BY DOING SOMETHING GREAT FOR GOD! Before Abraham,
Matthew, Billy Graham, or anyone else that God has used could do great
things for God, they first had to say yes when He called them. God is
speaking to YOU today. He is asking you to do something for Him. SAY YES
to God!!!

In His love and service,
Your friend and brother in Christ,
Bill Keller

***I CAN'T EXPLAIN WHY, BUT GOD HAS IMPRESSED UPON MY SPIRIT IN THE LAST
WEEK TO HIT THE ISSUE OF SALVATION VERY HARD. THAT WAS THE REASON FOR THE
DEVOTIONAL I WROTE LAST FRIDAY, AS WELL AS THE MESSAGE TODAY. THE BIBLE
SAYS THAT "TODAY" IS THE DAY OF SALVATION. PLEASE SHARE THIS MESSAGE WITH
AT LEAST 3 UN-SAVED PEOPLE YOU KNOW. THE TIME IS GETTING VERY SHORT,
SHORTER THAN ANY OF US CAN IMAGINE.

Who will be in Heaven. As you can imagine, each day I get tons of emails
with questions on all types of topics. Of everything we discuss, the most
important subject there is, is salvation. I want to use this time today to
clarify for many out there, who will be in Heaven. The salvation equation
is very simple. It is: by God's grace, and our faith, plus NOTHING ELSE.

There is only ONE way to Heaven...personal faith in Jesus Christ. There is
only ONE road to Heaven and that is through faith in Jesus Christ. That
means that the type of church you belong to will not get you into Heaven, no
amount of good works will get you into Heaven, you cannot buy your way into
Heaven...the only way to Heaven is
through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. That is God's plan as He
clearly lays out in the Bible.

The church is a place where people should be able to find a personal
relationship with Christ, a place of fellowship, a place to be fed
spiritually, a place where people can use their talents to serve God.
However, membership in a church WILL NOT get you into Heaven when you die.

There are many people who go through life doing wonderful things, helping
people, living good lives. There are no amount of good works you can do in
this lifetime to eliminate the sin we were all born with. Being a good
person WILL NOT get you into Heaven when you die. There is only one way to
get to Heaven, and that is through a personal relationship with Jesus
Christ!!!

My friend, the message I want you to understand today is that God has made a
simple way for His fallen children to be reconciled back into an everlasting
relationship with Himself. Many have tried to complicate the issue of
salvation. It is actually very simple. Recognize that you are a sinner.
Repent, turn away from your sins and ask God to forgive you. Accept by
faith Jesus Christ into your heart and surrender your life to Him.

Why Jesus? Because in God's plan, it was His sacrifice that paid for our
sins. You see, Jesus already paid the price for our sins. That is why
there are no amount of good works, no amount of money, nothing you can do on
your own because Jesus already paid the price.

Some ask about those who accept Christ on their deathbed, and how unfair it
is for them to go to Heaven after a life of sin and rebellion. First of
all, in perspective, this life is but a "vapor" as the Bible calls it, in
comparison with eternity. You have to remember that those who rebelled
during their life and come to Christ at the end, missed the joy, peace, and
blessings of this life and must have suffered greatly on the inside living
apart from God during those years on earth. The important fact is that like
you and me, they are sinners who accepted God's free gift of everlasting
life through faith in Jesus Christ..

Many ask about if you can lose your salvation. I am not going to get into
the age-old theological debate of "once saved always saved," but will share
my personal convictions from years of study of the Scripture and the
understanding of God I have. Part of the salvation equation is God's grace.
To lose your salvation means God would have to withdraw His grace. I have
never been able to get over the hurdle that God would take His grace away,
and of course the question becomes, at what point would He? Nothing in the
Bible says God withdraws His grace which by definition is unmerited favor.

I personally believe that if you make a sincere commitment to Christ by
faith you are saved, of course, only God knows a person's heart and if they
really were sincere. If you are saved and rebel, you lose the blessings,
the peace, the joy this life can offer. Much like the prodigal son who
never stopped being His father's son, but lost out on the blessings of
living in submission to his father. He endured much pain and heartache for
his rebellion. The bottom line though is if you always follow Christ, you
will never have to worry about losing your salvation.

I love you and care about you deeply. I pray that this helps many of you
clarify in your mind and heart the most important issue of our
life...determining where we will spend eternity. If you are reading this
today, and do not have the assurance that you will spend eternity in Heaven,
or you have never accepted Jesus Christ into your life by faith, then let
me encourage you to do it today. The Bible tells us that TODAY is the day
of
salvation. Don't wait another minute.

Take a few minutes and go to my website, www.liveprayer.com/bdy_salvatn.html
.
Read this short message on salvation, then as the Holy Spirit brings you
under conviction, pray the special prayer to accept Jesus Christ into your
heart as your Lord and Savior. Email me and let me know you have accepted
Christ into your life and I will be happy to send you at no charge some
special information to help you in your new found relationship with Christ.

May you be richly blessed today as God quickens to your Spirit these words.
For those who know Jesus, let me challenge you to share this Devotional with
at least 3 people in your life who need to know Jesus as their personal
Savior. I will be in prayer with you for these words to open their hearts
and for the Holy Spirit to bring them under conviction.

Who will be in Heaven? All of those people who have accepted by faith Jesus
Christ into their hearts and lives!

In His love and service,
Your friend and brother in Christ,
Bill Keller

You must have a plan to win the battle! I get so many emails each day from
people all over the world who are in the midst of major battles in their
life. They are desperate, looking for something magical to happen to make
their circumstances different overnight. I pray that by now you know how
much I love you and care about you. I try each day to stand with you, pray
with you, and help you through the trials of day to day life.

This is one of those days that I need to use some tough love on you. So
many of you have absolutely unrealistic expectations about resolving your
problems that you need someone to tell you the truth. I hear over and over
every day people say, "God has abandoned me...He doesn't love me or how
could He make me go through this." The fact is God has never left you, God
loves you unconditionally, and you go through most of the battles in your
life because you do not have a plan to get victory!

In today's scripture, we read about the plan God gave Joshua to take the
city of Jericho. Granted, it was an unusual plan, but it was a plan given
by God that when faithfully executed, worked. When the allies stormed the
beaches of Normandy on DDay, do you think they just woke up one morning and
decided to give it a try? Absolutely not. The generals spent months
planning, looking at all the different scenarios, strategizing, coming up
with the best plan they could to win that important battle. When you face
the battles in your life each day, why do you think you can just wake up and
wish those battles would go away? That is unrealistic.

It is also unrealistic to think that God is some genie in the bottle that
you call on when you are in trouble and He will snap His fingers and make
everything perfect. The fact is, most of your battles didn't just happen
overnight, they developed over a period of time. Victory will probably not
happen overnight either, it will take place over a period of time. Let me
interject that God can do anything, and if He, in His sovereign will,
chooses to eliminate your problems overnight He CAN do that. However, that
is normally not the way God works. He will bring victory over a period of
time because in that process several things occur. You learn how to be
obedient, faithfully execute God's plan for your life, and depend upon Him.

The question becomes where do I get this plan? God gives us His plan for
victory in many ways. This is again why it becomes critical to have that
intimate daily relationship with Him. It is in that close daily contact
through prayer, the Word, that He speaks to us. In our circumstances He
speaks to us. Through the counsel of others He speaks to us. It is a
combination of all the above that helps us formulate a game plan, His plan,
to be victorious.

One important element I just mentioned was the counsel of others. God has
placed mature, Godly people in our life strategically to help us overcome
our
battles. Drop your pride and reach out to the wise counsel of others. Let
them know about your struggles, ask them to help you formulate a viable plan
to see victory. Once armed with the plan God gives you, it requires you to
be like Joshua. Faithfully and obediently follow the plan. Trust God, put
your faith in Him, He won't let you down.

I love you and care about you so much. I will be praying today that these
words find a fertile resting place in your hearts and minds today. Focus
today on spending time with the Lord to formulate a game plan to gain
victory over whatever battles you might be fighting today. God will give
you the plan, then it is up to you to follow the plan. There really is
victory in Jesus. He has won the victory over whatever battle you are
facing 2000 years ago on Calvary. It is time to start living your life in
that victory.

It is tough for God to use defeated soldiers to fight the battles each day.
That is why it is critical to get victory in your life, so that you can lead
others to victory. May your number one priority today be getting a plan
from God to win the battles you are facing in your life, execute that plan
faithfully, and be able to claim my personal signature scripture from 1
Corinthians 15:57 that says, "But thanks be to God, which giveth us the
VICTORY through our Lord Jesus Christ."

If this devotional is a blessing to you, maybe you have a friend or
family member that would like to start receiving this daily word. You
can forward this to them, and they can use the following link to subscribe.www.liveprayer.com/signup.htm

***ON THIS FOURTH OF JULY, I WANT TO DEDICATE THIS DEVOTIONAL TO ALL OF
THOSE WHO HAVE BRAVELY AND HONORABLY SERVED OUR NATION . TO THOSE WHO MADE
THE ULTIMATE SACRIFICE, OUR NATION THANKS YOU! TO THOSE WHO SERVED AND ARE
STILL ALIVE, NEVER DOUBT HOW SIGNIFICANT GOD USED YOUR LIFE IN HIS PLAN AND
PURPOSE. TO THOSE WHO THIS DAY ARE SERVING OUR NATION IN THE ARMED FORCES,
ALLOWING US TO ENJOY THE FREEDOMS WE OFTEN TAKE FOR GRANTED.....THANK YOU!!!
YOU ARE REAL LIFE HEROES AND WE PRAY TODAY FOR GOD'S RICHEST BLESSINGS ON
YOUR LIFE!!! LIVEPRAYER EXISTS ONLY BECAUSE OF THE SACRIFICES OF THOSE WHO
HAVE DEFENDED OUR NATION FROM DAY ONE!!!!

***FORWARD THIS TO EVERYONE THAT YOU KNOW. THIS NEEDS TO GO TO EVERY
ELECTED OFFICIAL FROM THOSE IN LOCAL GOVERNMENT ALL THE WAY TO THE
PRESIDENT.

***This is one of the most difficult Devotionals that I have ever written.
It is a message that God told me to deliver for 2 year, and was sitting in
my "Devotional To-Do" file until last June. I had started to send this
numerous times over the past several years, but simply could not do it
because I knew that it would be difficult for most to read. As painful as
it was for me to write this, and as painful as it will be for you to read
it, it is a word that God wants to be told and I need to be faithful to what
He has called me to do. Please pray before reading this message, and ask
God to prepare your heart to receive it. Never forget that even in times of
great judgment, God always has a remnant that remains faithful to Him. May
we be faithful and part of His remnant, and may God be merciful to us even
in His judgment.

God's judgment on the United States! Perhaps no nation that has ever
existed in the history of the world other than Israel, has known the
incredible blessings of God like the United States. In just 228 years, this
nation has become the most powerful and prosperous nation in the history of
the world. It is the hand of God that allows nations to rise, and to fall.
God allowed this nation to rise up from nothing. He poured out His richest
blessings on our country. Sadly, we have squandered those blessings,
misappropriated them, and now must face God's judgment.

I DO NOT say this lightly, and fully realize the magnitude of what I am
sharing with you today. This nation began to decline in the mid 60's. That
decline continued throughout the 70's. It intensified in the "me years" of
the 80's. The decline began to occur at warp speed during the 90's, when
even the President became a symbol of our decline. As we are now 4 years
into the new millennium, we are in free-fall and I am sorry to say, things
are never going to get better, only worse.

There are 7 key factors that has brought our nation to this time of God's
judgment. First, is the Federal Government legalizing the killing of
innocent babies. In the 30 years since abortion was legalized, there have
been over 40 million babies killed, app. 1.3 million each year, around 4,000
every single day. Second, is the bold, unrepentant, unashamed, gross sexual
perversion that exists in our nation today. From those who choose
homosexuality, to the epidemic of sexual activity outside of marriage
starting as young as 12, to the ever increasing numbers of men and women who
commit adultery, to the unrestricted pornography industry, to those who
proudly engage in every type of sexual perversion that man has ever dreamed
of.

The third factor is the millions who have rejected the God of the Bible to
follow the false gods of the world. The fastest growing religions in our
country are the cults like the Muslims, the Mormons, the Scientologists, and
the various New Age movements. They have preyed on the 2 plus generations
in our nation that have for the most part never been to church, and during
those difficult times in their life are seeking answers. Sadly, they have
believed the lie from satan instead of the Truth of God's Word. Fourth, is
the abandonment of Israel. Genesis 12:3 is still in effect today! Even
though the U.S. gives billions in aid each year to Israel, the current
"roadmap" is helping to give away the land that God promised to the children
of Israel to their enemies.

Fifth, is the destruction of the family. A Godly family consisting of a man
and a woman that both love the Lord and have only been married to each
other, with children that love and honor God, is the exception today, rather
than the norm that it once was. Marriage is no longer God's holy
institution,
but little more than a legal date. Divorce damages the lives of both
spouses and the children involved. A large percentage of children now grow
up in unstable homes where God is never mentioned, and go on to have
unhealthy relationships and children of their own, that also grow up in
unstable homes void of God.

The sixth factor is the media. Satan has full control over 99% of the media
( the 1% being the Christian media) and there are no longer ANY constraints
on what can be produced. Between television, films, music, the Internet,
video games, and publications, you can access an unlimited amount of
whatever type of filth, garbage, perversion, and disgusting deviant behavior
that you want 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, right from the comfort of your
home.

The seventh and final factor is the apostate church. The church today is
more interested in programs than people, in building great structures
instead of great men and women of God, in entertaining people rather than
encouraging them. The church has compromised the absolute truth of God's
word in order to be politically correct, and is more concerned with
people's money than their souls. The spiritual leaders of this nation are
NOT supposed to be President Bush and politicians, NOT supposed to be Snoop
Dogg, Eminem, and musicians, NOT supposed to be Oprah and other TV
stars, NOT supposed to be Tiger Woods and sports heroes, NOT supposed to be
Hollywood entertainers. They are supposed to be the men and women of God
that He has raised up and called to be a BOLD, LOUD, CLEAR voice for His
TRUTH, not just from the pulpit of a local church, or in a great conventions
of Christians, BUT IN THE WORLD THAT WE LIVE IN!!!

I love you and care about you so much. My heart is broken over having to
share such a word like this. If we think that any of these 7 factors are
going to change, we are simply being naive. Things are NOT ever going to go
back to the way they used to be. To not expect God's judgment on such
blatant and gross rebellion is also very naive. God will not be mocked.
You cannot live in rebellion to God and not pay the price in your personal
life, and we cannot live in rebellion to God and not pay the price as a
nation. But here is the good news. GOD ALWAYS HAS A REMNANT!
GOD ALWAYS HAS A PEOPLE! Despite whatever judgment He pours
out on our nation, there will always be a group of people that will never
bow
their knee to Baal!

I will be praying for you today. I pray that you will be part of God's
remnant in these last days. I pray that you will embrace the opportunity
that we will have as the people of God to share the hope and love of Christ
with the hurting and the lost. We are going to have incredible
opportunities to see great numbers of souls won for the Kingdom. I remember
in the first few days after 9/11, at Liveprayer we saw over 2,000 accept
Christ as their Savior. There will be a great harvest of souls as God's
judgment is poured out on our nation. That is why I have worked so hard to
establish Liveprayer here on the Internet, and establish the Liveprayer TV
program
on commercial television. I know that it is only a matter of time before
God
sends His judgment on our nation, and I want to have the vehicles in place
to be able to reach the masses who will be looking for answers.

My word for you today is to not be frightened by these words, but be
challenged by them. Despite whatever judgment God pours out on the United
States, those who know Christ as their Savior have no reason to be afraid.
May we never waiver in our faithfulness to God, serve Him to the best of our
ability, and always be proud to be called Christians.

Let me leave you with the incredible words from Hebrews 11:13-16, and pray
that one day men will say this about you and I. "All these people were
still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things
promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they
admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. People who say such
things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they had
been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity
to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country--a heavenly one.
THEREFORE GOD IS NOT ASHAMED TO BE CALLED THEIR GOD,
FOR HE HAS PREPARED A CITY FOR THEM."

In His love and service,
Your friend and brother in Christ,
Bill Keller